The use of a roller grilling apparatus is well known. Such devices as made by APW Wyott of Dallas, Tex., are able to grill more than five hundred frankfurters an hour. This makes this type of apparatus ideal for serving a large number of people quickly with a minimum number of personnel. Further, since the customers are able to view and smell the products while they are being grilled, it helps to develop appetite appeal so that it is no wonder that the use of such devices for serving ‘hot dogs’ is so ubiquitous.
The universal acceptance of having a grilled frankfurter prepared by such grills has resulted in their use for other food products as well, such as bratwurst, sausage, knockwurst and so on. However, many products taken directly from the refrigerator are not pre-cooked such as is typical for sausages. Therefore, such products are potentially hazardous if they spend too little cooking time on the roller grill before serving. This is particularly a problem in high volume situations where a large number of people are being served in a relatively short period of time such as at sporting events.
Health inspectors, recognizing the potential hazard to customers receiving food that has not been heated throughout to the proper temperature, have taken the position that the merchandizer of such products is in violation of health safety standards. Unless a consistently safe product can be demonstrably provided, the use of roller grills for products that aren't pre-cooked will to be very limited. This will be especially true in high volume locations for roller grills that often do not have sufficient time to heat the products fast enough to meet public demand such as at fairs, ballparks and other venues where the ‘hot dog’ is a signature food choice.
Heating such products on other than roller grills and then transferring them to a roller grill has disadvantages. First, this method often causes unwanted changes in the appearance and desirability of the product. Further, this method also requires additional equipment and presents a space problem during food preparation. Also, there is a requirement of moving the product from the non-roller grill to the roller grill which is located at a distance from the roller grill thus slowing the process as well as risking spills, etc.
A safe product transfer apparatus that is associated with a roller grilling apparatus and re-thermalizes the products to be roller grilled in accordance with food safety requirements and is able to hold such products for an extended time is not found in the prior art.